The Tortured Life of Merton J Dingle
by Erin Turnbull
Summary: Rated PG just to be on the safe side. Merton finds out he is adopted and goes on a quest to find his own family. I'm trying to decide whether to make a T/L or a M/L. I'll accept any and all requests. Please R&R!
1. Reflecting on the past

Merton had always had a tortured life. He reflected upon this, as he lay down in bed, his eyes wide open, unable to sleep. He had just overheard his parents talking. They were talking about Merton, and the fact that he was adopted. Why hadn't they told him before? He tried to remember as far back as he could. He tried to remember his real parents. He couldn't, so he just tried to remember as much as he could about his life. He remembered when he was four years old, and Becky was brought home from the hospital. Everyone crowded her, gave her all of the attention. Merton was left alone. Everyone was too busy with Becky to even notice him. He learned to blend with the shadows. He knew that nobody wanted him around. Later that year at Christmas, Merton was thrilled. Christmas was his favourite time of the year. Except, this year was different. Everyone brought tons of gifts for Becky. As his Grandmother put all of Becky's gifts under the tree, she noticed Merton sitting there with a sad look on his face. He knew she had probably forgotten to bring him a gift, with all of the excitement of Becky. She told him to wait one second while she went to the car. She brought back a Christmas gift, and told him he could open it early. Merton opened it as quickly as he could. It was a board game. Clue. He thanked his Grandmother and ran up to his room to play with it. He opened it up and set up the pieces. 

"Hmmm…" He thought, "I need another person to play with. I know!" an idea hit him. He picked up a small doll off of his bed. It had a black and white checkered jacket, and green hair. He had this doll since he was just a baby. He had called it Mr. Invincible, or Vince for short. "You'll play with me Vince!"

Two years went by and all he did was stay in his room and play Clue with that doll. He was so convinced that it was real. His parents thought he might have some kind of problem. They simply shrugged their shoulders and said, "If he's having fun, why stop him?" They were too busy pampering Becky to worry about the psychological well-being of their son.

Becky on the other hand, being now two years old, wanted to play with her older brother and get to know him. One day, she went up to his room while her mother was making lunch, and knocked on the door. Merton opened it.

"Hi Becky. Do you want to play clue with me and Vince?"

"Yeah," replied Becky with a wide grin on her face, "who's Vince?"

"Vince is my best friend. Here he is!" Merton stepped aside to reveal Vince. He roughly the same as the doll Merton had played with two years ago, but now he was real. Merton convinced himself into believing he was real, and Becky, being only two, believed in him as well. The three of them would play clue every day. Merton's parents were now starting to worry. They thought that maybe they should keep Becky away from Merton.

"That boy is a bad influence on her," his mother would say.

"She's becoming just as freakish as he is. I don't Becky to be another problem child," his father would say. They continued sharing these thoughts, until one day, another two years later when something happened to make them change their minds. 

It was a cold winter's afternoon. Becky and Merton were upstairs playing clue with Vince.

"Your hair is icky Vince!" said Becky. She never made fun of his hair before. Not until she started going to school. She told her friends about Vince. When she told them that his hair was green, they made fun of her. They told her that people with green hair have cooties.

An angry look spread across Vince's eyes. Vince was the size and age of an adult, but in his mind, he was still a child. Just as much a child as Merton or Becky. And so he reacted as most children would. He struck Becky in the face. Sending her to the ground crying.

Downstairs, Merton's parents heard the noise. They rushed up to see Becky on the floor crying. They turned her around. Her eyes were welled with tears and above her left eye was a large bruise. 

"What did you do to her!?" screamed her mother. 

"It wasn't me! It was Vince!" Merton yelled back.

"Oh, is Vince that imaginary friend you've been in here with all this time? Why can't you just be normal! There is no such thing as invisible friends! Now you're going to pack up all of your crap and put in in the attic! Then, you're moving to your new bedroom in the basement!" his father yelled angrily. 

Ever since then, Merton lived in the basement. He had no friends at school, and so he collected artifacts, or "creepy stuff" as some might call it. He dyed his hair black and spiked it. The basement became his home, his lair.

His parents figured something was terribly wrong with him, but they didn't want to waste their money on a doctor, so they just made sure he had a home and food. They convinced Becky that Merton was a freak, and that she was to stay away from him. So she did. She referred to him as "freaker" and avoided him at all costs. She lost all memory of the days when they played clue together.

Merton was now in his senior year. He had finally made a friend, Tommy Dawkins. Tommy was a were-wolf. Merton helped him out and eventually they became the best of friends. Merton's life was changed. He still had to endure T'n'T's beatings, and Becky's insults, but now he had a friend to comfort him. Then he made another friend. She wasn't as close a Tommy was but she was still a great friend. Her name was Lori Baxter. When Merton first met her, he liked her. He thought she was gorgeous. Unfortunately, so did Tommy, and naturally, like many girls before her, chose the mighty captain of the football team over the lowly president of the Gothic Fantasy Guild. Merton stepped down. He didn't go into a jealous fit of rage. He just let Tommy have her. He was used to being pushed around. He was used to letting others win. When Tommy and Lori broke up, Merton was happy. He knew that now he had a chance, or at least he though he did. One night, Lori kissed him, and when Tommy saw them, he was jealous. He would never forgive Merton. Merton understood though. And when an evil demon tried to turn Tommy into stone, Merton jumped in the way. Even though he and Tommy had been fighting, they were still best friends in Merton's eyes.

Merton remembered is life. In the beginning it was terrible, but it did get better. Maybe if he hadn't been adopted, the beginning would have been better too. He finally fell asleep that night. The next morning, he would see his friends. They would fight some evil, and maybe he'd even get a chance to go look for his real family.

The End.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this yada yada yada. BWOC characters and trademarks aren't mine.

I'll probably end up writing a conclusion later of Merton finding his real family.

Thank you all,

-Love, Erin Turnbull 


	2. Running Home

The Tortured Life of Merton J. Dingle

Chapter One: Running Home.

Disclaimer: Not my chars... wish they were.... but they're not.

Merton awoke that morning to the sound of his alarm clock. He shut it off and got up to go to school. He packed up his books into his coffin back-pack. He remembered everything he had thought about last night. He hated being that goofy senior who always got stuffed into lockers. Today he would change. Today he would find his true family. He saw on his end table a picture of his parents and Becky. He wasn't in the picture. It all made sense now. Why would they adopt him if they just wanted him out of the picture? He picked up the picture frame and threw at the wall. It shattered to bits. Today would be the day he stopped getting kicked around like a lost puppy dog. He went outside, not bothering to say goodbye to his parents... No. They weren't his parents. They were just the people who found the kindness in their hearts to put a roof over his head.

When Merton arrived at school, he walked towards his locker. Tommy and Lori weren't at school yet. That means T'n'T would get him for sure. He really wasn't in the mood to get beat up, but Tim and Travis wouldn't care. Tim grabbed Merton's bag off his shoulders and held it in the air, out of Merton's reach. "Hey broski! What do we have here?" Tim asked his brother.

"Looks like Dingle-dork's bag. What's in it?" asked Travis. The two brothers began to look through Merton's stuff.

"Guys just give it back!" Merton whined. He knew that even if he wanted to stop being a wimp, it would never work. This is who he was. 

Tim and Travis began to pull out more items from the bag. "Hey Travis! What do you think Dingle's doing with all of these extra clothes in his bag?"

"Going somewhere? Or are you afraid you're going to wet yourself and need a change of clothes?" taunted Travis.

"Hey look Trav! He already did!" Tim points to Merton's pants. They were soaked. Merton had wet himself again. He felt so angry, he just wanted to explode, or sink into a hole in the ground and never come out. But instead, he just did what he always did and gave them a goofy grin, followed by a quiet and scared, "heh heh... I'll just be going now." Merton tries to take his bag from Tim and Travis's hands.

"You want it back? Well too bad Dingle-dork!" Travis belts Merton in the stomach and shoves him and his backpack into a locker.

Merton hated being weak. He hated having to put up with this. T'n'T found the extra clothes he packed. He planned to run away after school. Fortunately T'n'T were too dumb to figure that out. Merton waited for Tommy to come. He would help him. He always did. But how would he tell Tommy and Lori that he was running away? He could see it now.

"Oh, why don't you just stay. It's not all that bad" Tommy would say.

"Don't leave pleasantville! You need to help us figure out how to beat all of the demons!" Lori would protest, followed by an elbow to the gut. 

He couldn't telll them. They'd never understand. He also wished Lori wouldn't hit him so much. It hurt alot, and it hurt him even worse inside. What kind of friend would treat you like that?

Merton sat still in the cold dark locker, waiting for Tommy to come and get him out. But hours passed and Tommy nor Lori showed up. They must have forgotten about him. No, he shouldn't think that way. His friends would know he was missing. He heard footsteps from down the hall and heared the farmilliar voices of Tommy and Lori.

"Hey Lori, have you seen Merton around today?" asked Tommy.

"No. He's probably sick or something." suggesed Lori.

"Guys! I'm in here! Help!" Merton yelled as he pounded hard on the locker door.

Tommy walked over to the locker and opened it up. "Hey Merton! What are you doing in the locker?"

"I was.... uh... researching.... um... a new species of... uh... locker lint?" joked Merton.

"Wait a second.... There's no lint in lockers!" Tommy realised.

"Tommy, I was shoved in here by T'n'T."

"You should learn to stand up for yourself." said Lori. She didn't realise the seriousness of what she had said. Merton desperately wanted to be stronger. He pushed passed them and walked to class. In class, he couldn't concentrate. He kept thinking about being adopted. Why would The Dingles take him if they didn't even want him? Then something hit him. His last name wasn't Dingle. It could be anything. He could be related to anyone. He felt like he was probably the only kid in school who didn't know his own last name. And why wouldn't the Dingles, that's right, he wasn't going to call them his parents anymore. They weren't his parents. They hadn't even acted like it. Anyway, why wouldn't they tell him he was adopted? He was eighteen. They should have told him by now. And did Becky know? It was all too much for him. He rose his hand.

"Yes Dingle?" said the teacher. She had called him Dingle. It made him angry, but he knew that she didn't know he was adopted, so he just ignored it.

"Could I go to the bathroom?" He asked.

"Go ahead" replied the Teacher. 

Merton headed to the boy's bathroom. He needed to think. He splashed some water on his pale face. He looked at himself in the mirror. He didn't look like his Mrs. or Mr. Dingle, or Becky. He normally had sandy blonde hair, before he dyed it black. All of the Dingles were brunettes. He decided he had to find his real family. He had to find out who he was. He descided not to go back to class. He was leaving pleasantville. He was running away, running home. 


	3. Kidnapped

Chapter 3: Kidnapped

Editor's note: sorry I haven't worked on it in a while but I've been working on another fic that's really long. This series is probably really out of character but I'd appreciate reviews please. 'd like to know how I could improve. So please please please review!!!

Merton ran out the doors of Pleasantville high as fast as he could. He wouldn't even stop to say goodbye to Tommy and Lori. There would be less questions that day. He ran until he reached the park. The cramp in his side grew too painful and he doubled over. He figured he might as well leave his friends a note. That way they wouldn't worry. He opened his coffin-shaped backpack and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. He wrote:

Dear Tommy and Lori,

I am sorry you have to hear this but I am leaving Pleasantville for personal reasons. Don't try to find me. I left the keys to the lair under the doormat. You can use my books to help you fight evil.

Goodbye and best wishes,

Merton.

Merton stared at the letter making sure he included everything he wanted to. He ran as fast as he could down the street. He assured himself that soon he would be at the lair. He could leave the note and take the Hearse to Pleasantville hospital. He'd find out who his parents are and then he would leave town. He arrived at the lair, nearly collapsing at the door. He went inside and grabbed the keys to the hearse. He was about to leave, but then he saw Rasputin, his albino python slithering across his computer desk. He decided it would be best to take Rasputin with him. He grabbed Rasputin and headed out the door. He placed the key to the lair under the doormat and put the note on the doorsteps. He got into the hearse and pulled out of the driveway. Merton wondered to himself if he was doing the right thing. He didn't want to leave Tommy and Lori behind. But he did need to find his real family. He was so caught up in thought that he barely noticed that he was heading straight for a tree. He swerved to the right, the car fell into a ditch. Merton climbed out the door. He wasn't hurt, but the hearse was in bad shape. Then he noticed a bat swoop down to the grass. It looked like it fell out of a tree or something. Rasputin began hissing violently. Merton realized he had left Rasputin in the car. He got Rasputin out, but he kept hissing at the bat. Merton moved in closer and Rasputin jumped out of his hands and onto the grass. He raised his head above the bat and bared his fangs. The bat began to shriek loudly and then in a puff of smoke, transformed into a human.

"Get that thing away from me! Ew! Get it away! Get it away!" the figure yelled. He had brown hair and he was wearing a black frock. His voice sounded like he was homosexual. 

Merton picked up Rasputin and patted him softly on the head. "Don't worry, the mean man didn't mean it," he said in a babyish voice. " Who do you think you are, calling my snake ew!" yelled Merton, he quickly raised his hands over his head, "and please don't hurt me!"

"Hurt you? Pffft! Oh don't be such a scaredy. Now I believe you're Merton Dingle?"

"My name's Merton but I'm not a Dingle." Said Merton.

The man pulls out an old scroll and begins to read it. "This here-by states that Merton Drakula, heir of Valdimere Drakula is to return to the council of Vampires." He puts the scroll in his pocket. "The master sent me to get you. And If I were you, I would come, because if I don't return with you he'll cancel pajama day. Ooooh, I just can't bare the though."

"You mean, I'm the son of a Vampire?! Awesome!" Merton begins to make some growling noises and he flexes his muscles." But… uh, I can't do anything evil. Sorry. So I'll uh, just be leaving now," Merton clasps his hands together.

"I guess I'll have to do this the hard way!" He raises a black bag over Merton's head. It looks like he's about to hit Merton with it, but then he kindly says, "Sugar cookie? They're home made!" He opens the bag and inside are sugar cookies shaped like bats.

"Hmmm… Don't mind if I do." Merton takes a cookie and bites into it. "quite good. What did you put in here? I think I can taste a hint of cinnamon, but I'm not quite sure—" Merton falls over unconscious.

The man picks up Merton and drags him into the forest. 


	4. Carry me home, unconscious

Chapter 4: Could this be home?

Author's note: This one's probably a little short. I'll try to make the next one longer. I think you'll find this one pretty funny though.

-Love, Erin Turnbull.

Tommy hadn't seen Merton at all since school and he was worried. He wondered if maybe Lori had seen him. He grabbed the phone and dialed her number.

"Hello?" A voice on the phone said.

"Hi, could I talk to Lori?" Tommy answered.

"Yeah, just a second," the voice replied.

"Hi," said Lori.

"Hey Lori. It's Tommy. Have you seen Merton today?" asked Tommy.

"No… but why would you ask me? How should I know? He probably accidentally locked himself in the bathroom again." Replied Lori.

"No, it can't be. We fixed the lock remember?" said Tommy.

"Well I don't know where he is. Did you call the lair?" asked Lori.

"Actually… I should have done that in the first place." Tommy hangs up the phone and dials Merton's number. The phone rings several times before the answering machine started.

"Hi, you've reached the lair. I'm not here right now because my schedule is always incredibly busy. But if you leave your name and number, I'll try to find the time to call you," said Merton's voice on the answering machine. 

Then in the background, Becky's voice could be heard, "Hey Freaker! You've got a letter! Something about a restraining order."

"Damn. I knew I shouldn't have stalked that celebrit—D'I mean, leave your name and number after the beep," said Merton's voice. Tommy hung up the phone. He knew Merton probably wasn't out. He never was. So Tommy wolfed- out and headed to the lair. When he arrived, he noticed Lori was there already, sitting on the doorstep with a note in her hand.

"Why that little, grrrr… how could he just bail on us?!" yelled Lori angrily as she stood up.

"What happened?" asked Tommy.

"Merton left town. See?" Lori handed Tommy the note, "Tommy, do you know what this means?"

"Yeah," replied Tommy, "The gothic fantasy guild won't have a president anymore."

"No Tommy," Lori takes the note from him, crumples it up, and throws it in his face. "It means we've got to find him."

"Yeah but, it says not to… and I'm kind of hungry." Replied Tommy.

"Tommy, he's our friend! Try to smell him or something!" yelled Lori.

"Ok, ok." Tommy sniffs the air. " I think I got something!"

"Um… ok, I can't run as fast as you…. So uh," Lori thinks for a second, then she hops up onto Tommy's shoulders. Tommy almost looses his balance, but then soon regains it.

"Jeez Lori! How much do you weigh?" Tommy asked as he finally gained his balance.

"Just shut up, and find Merton!" Lori said, crossing her arms. Tommy began to run so she quickly put her arms back around Tommy's neck.

_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_

Meanwhile, the man in the black frock is carrying Merton over his shoulder into a dimly lit room. In the room is a long table with hooded figures sitting around it. At the head of the table is what appears to be the leader.

"Boss? Yello?" He waves his arm in front of the leader's face. 

He grabs the man's arm, "I can see you Alexander!" he yells.

"So uh, where should I drop him? Oh and please, it's AlexONdre," Alexondre corrected.

The leader grunted angrily and let go of Alexondre. "Put him on the table, but I must ask you, how did you manage to knock him out so well?"

"Well, I have always told you my sugar cookies were a real knock-out! Heh heh, get it? Knock-out?" joked Alexondre. The boss slammed his fist down on the table. "Right… I'll just uh.. sit down now." Alexondre dropped Merton down on the table and took a seat at the table.

The leader lowered his hood to reveal a pale face with long black hair that's been greased back. "Finally, my heir has been found! And we shall rise again! The dark ages shall return! MUAH HA HA HA!! **cough cough hack hack"**

Alexondre stood up and held out a small box, "Cough drop Vlad?"

Vlad angrily grabbed the box and pops a cough drop into his mouth. "YOU WILL ADRESS ME AS MASTER!" He yelled.

"Right, sorry master… How about masteroo? Or maybe mr.masterman or—" Alexondre shut himself up and sat down as he saw Vlad's eyes glow red. 

"Ahem. Now, when he awakes, we shall convert him. He will become one of us, and bring us to our rule!"


	5. So, you're a vampire king bent on taking...

Chapter Five: So, you're a vampire king bent on taking over the world… what's that like?

"So, you're a vampire king bent on taking over the world… What's that like?" those were Merton's first words as he awoke to see Vlad towering over him. He gulped miserably hoping that he wouldn't have to become a vampire himself. Not that it he probably wouldn't enjoy it if it did happen, but he had a duty to stay good and protect Pleasantville. 

"Actually, quite fun. But that doesn't matter right now!" yelled Vlad, then his voice softened quickly as Merton flinched "I mean, what does matter is that we need your help. And you _will _help us, right?" Vlad's eyes glowed a dark red as he stared Merton in the eye, his face just inches away. 

Merton gulped again, "uh heh heh heh… I think uh… You guys will, uh… do just fine without me. So uh, if you don't mind, I'll just be on my way out…" Merton pointed behind him as he slowly slipped off the table and backed away towards the exit.

Vlad grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "You won't be going anywhere!" he growled, baring his sharp white fangs. His voice and expression softened again. "Do you want to know who you _really _are Merton?"

"Y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-yes," Merton stuttered. He was scared now. He didn't want to associate with vampires, especially if Tommy wasn't around to protect him. But he had to know who he really was. It would haunt him forever if he had said no.

"Oooooh! A stutter-bug!" cried Alexondre, "I believe he stuttered about 15 times! A new record! Lem'me right that down… Or was it 16?" Alexondre began counting his fingers.

"Shut up you fool!" Yelled Vlad as he whipped around to face Alexondre. His eyes glowed red and he bared his fangs.

Alexondre put his hands up and cringed in fear, "Sorry! Sorry! You're right! It was fifteen!"

Vlad growled a low raspy growl under his breath and muttered, "Why do I even bother?" he turned back around to face Merton, "I'll tell you who you are now. You are my son. Unfortunately, when you were born, you were half human and didn't have many vampyric qualities. So I put you up for adoption,"

"Oh that's comforting" groaned Merton sarcastically.

" But!" continued Vlad, "It was the biggest mistake I had ever made in my life! For it wasn't until just weeks ago when I discovered the prophecy! The prophecy that stated that when my heir, Merton J. Dracula, took my place at the throne, the vampires would rise to power again! Ah ha ha ha ha _cough cough hack hack!"_

"Cough drop?" Alexondre suggested, holding out a small box.

Vlad growled lowly as he took the box from Alexondre.

_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_**_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_

((A/N: I know I was out of character with the Lori on Tommy's shoulders part in the last chapter, but I'm working on improving. So I'll try my best to repair the damage… and some juicy tension in the process… he he he! I have so much power! So much control! I'M INVINCIBLE! Sorry… I uh got a little carried away there.))

Tommy raced down the road, well, not really raced. It was more of a slow and wobbly limp, trying to support Lori's weight on his back.

"Ugh!" Lori groaned. This is stupid! I expected riding a were-wolf to be exciting… That's it. I'm getting off. It'd be faster if we just walked." Lori hopped off of Tommy's back and walked beside him. 

"Thanks, you were really heavy. You should cut back on the chicken." Suggested Tommy.

Lori slapped him hard on the arm.

"What was that for!?" Tommy complained.

"What do you mean 'What was that for!?' You insulted me! Then again, how would you know anyway. You're just a dumb jock!" yelled Lori.

"Hey! I'm not just a jock! …" Tommy thought for a second, "I'm a were-wolf too."

Lori pointed to something in the ditch behind Tommy. "What's that?"

Tommy turned around, "It looks like a-a-a a tree! An oak tree! Wait wait… It could be maple."

"No you idiot! Under the tree! It's- it looks like a hearse." Lori ran over to the hearse and checked around it. She found Rasputin crawling through the grass.

A/N: Ok, hoped ya liked it. Please review, I need the criticism to improve. And if I'm out of character, just let me know exactly what parts are out of character so I can avoid it in the future. Thanx!

-Love,

Erin Turnbull 


	6. Estriera

Chapter 6: Estriera 

A/N: Ok, thanks for the reviews and I'm sorry I didn't update sooner but my keyboard has been having problems. It gets sticky and it's very frustrating to type. (right now I'm on my parents computer, but I don't get a good chance to use it very often). I read over my last chapter and I realized Lupa was right. Lori was a bit too mean. But I'm working on it. I'll try to think of some hidden and juicy evil character tension thingymabobber reason for why Lori's unnaturally meaner to Tommy. But first I need help.. PLEASE tell me if I should to a M/L or a T/L. I can't decide! 

Merton sat still, a cold chill ran up his spine. He prayed to every god of every religion that Tommy and Lori would save him. He didn't want to be a vampire. He now knew who he was and that was enough. "I'ts time to make a break for it!" he shouted proudly, then remembering the chains that were now tying him to the wall, he added, "after these chains eventually decay over hundreds of years…"

"You know Merton," Vlad said as he gave a subtle grin, "you could just agree to help us. All you have to do is let me bite you. Or I'll just do it by force. Your choice."

"Well, let's see," Merton weighed the options on each of his hands as he tried to decide.

"You know it doesn't hurt so much if you just dab a bit of rubbing alcohol on you neck first," said Alexondre.

"Enough! I'll do it now!" Vlad rushed over to Merton and lowered his head down to Merton's neck, as Merton let out a shrill yell of pain. 

Merton's eyes glowed red as he looked up slowly. Fangs emerged from his mouth and he smiled. "The dark shall rise again! AH HA HA HA HA HA! *cough cough hack hack *

"Like father like son," Alexondre sighed, handing Merton a box of cough drops.

Just then, the door burst down, to reveal Tommy and Lori standing behind it ready for battle.

"So now they show up," Merton said disappointedly. The his head began to hurt. He had the urge to feed.

To feed on blood.

Human blood.

And the only human in the room was Lori. He fought it as hard as he could. He began to feel dizzy, watching Tommy and Lori fight the vampires. He couldn't conrol it anymore.

He broke free of his chains in an unnatural outburst of strength and pounced on Lori, pinning her to the ground. He moved his head towards her neck.

Lori struggled to push Merton away. She managed to hold him back long enough to think. Why was he doing this? They had bitten him. That's why. Merton was a vampire now, and he was evil. She could stare straight at his shimmering white fangs. He tried over and over to bite her. She had to keep pushing him back, and moving her head out of the way. She eventually managed to kick him off of her.

Tommy saw Merton crash to the ground, due to Lori's kick. "Buddy! Are you ok?" He rushed to Merton's side.

"Tommy, No!" Lori screamed

Tommy put his hand on Merton's shoulder as he lay still on the ground. He was shaking ever-so-slightly though. "No. Can't do it. Need blood. NO! I WON'T! Yes. Yes I will. NO!"

"Tommy, stay away! They bit him! He's an evil Vampire!"

"Tommy? Tommy! Thank God you're here. Don't worry. I won't hurt you. It isn't were-wolf blood I want. Just don't let me hurt Lori," his sentence ended in a slur as his attention diverted to Lori as she fought one of the Vampires. He tried to dash towards her, but Tommy held him back.

"Lori, get out of here! They all want your blood!" Tommy yelled.

"I'll be fine, I can handle this myself!" Lori yelled back as she threw a Vampire to the ground.

Tommy wondered why they weren't hurting the vampires. Nothing seemed to do any damage. "Hey Merton, what kills vampires?"

"St-Stakes," Merton replied as he tried to fight another urge to lunge at Lori.

"Ok, if I rush down to the grocery store and grab a steak, will you be good and not hurt Lori?" Tommy asked.

"No Tommy! A wooden stake! Brake that chair over there!" Merton corrected. Tommy let go of him and he lunged down at Lori once again. 

Lori fought Merton off as hard as she could. He was a lot stronger now that he was a vampire. "Merton! You've got to stop this! I'm your friend!"

"I know Lori. I can't fight it! I need human blood!"

"Merton!" a voice yelled from down the hall. Out of the shadows stepped a woman in her thirties. All of the vampires, except Merton, instantly bowed down before her. 

"My lady," Vlad said, as he kneeled down and lowered his head.

"You have found the boy. Good work." She said in a stern tone. Then she turned to Merton and lifted him with ease off of Lori. She snapped her fingers, and two vampires carried Lori away.

"Help! Merton! Tommy! Help!" Lori yelled, struggling to break free.

The lady turned to Tommy, who was holding a stake in his hand. "A were-wolf? My, it looks like my son has made interesting friends." She snapped her fingers and another two vampires grabbed Tommy.

Tommy tried to stake them, but they were wearing chain-mail. The wooden stake wouldn't pierce their armor. They grabbed him and carried him away.

The lady then turned to Merton. "Do you know who I am Merton?"

Merton knew instantly just by looking at her. She was his Mother.

"Merton, I am your mother, Estriera. Vlad bit me only after you were born, that is why you have human blood. I became queen of all vampres, and even surpassed the power of my maker. You will help the vampires rise back into power. Your cravings are strong. Help us, and we'll give you all the blood you want."

"Yes, What must I do, my lady?" Merton seemed almost in a trance. He couldn't think clearly. All he could think about is blood. 

"It says in the prophecy, that the boy, that's you, has two friends that will be tortured to death by the boy himself." She stated, as she read from a scroll. "Good. They should be in the dungeon right now. Merton?"

"Yes my lady?"

"Kill them."

A/N: Thankyou for reading. PLEASE review. I'll update sooner this time, but I really need to know, T/L or M/L??? 


	7. Chapter Seven

A/N: Ya, I kinda rushed the last chapter. As for replies, here goes.

Mer de noms: I won't do a T/M. Sorry. 

Obscurus Lupa: Ok, I admit that part was excruciatingly corny. He shouldn't have been yelling out about domination two seconds after he was bit. And I admit, that chapter was fast moving. I'll try to improve though. I suppose you're right. No romance. It would make things too sappy, and now that I've finally planned the rest of the plot, it won't fit in anyway. And the reason Merton knew it was his mother is because if look up the page a bit, she does use the term "my son" when she is referring to Merton. And the prophecy, that wasn't what was actually written on it. It's much longer and she only read a sentence from it. And the were-wolf blood thing. Well, Christina and Cassandra wer Cobiesque vampires. They ONLY fed off of were-wolf blood. So I figured a normal one wouldn't be interested. And it's not that they couldn't drink Tommy's blood. It's that they didn't crave it very much when a human is right next to him. Human blood is the most appealing to vampires.

Ok, time for this chapter. Please read and review! AND I need to know, T/L or M/L. Otherwise I'll have to decide myself and I'll probly pick M/L. If you wat a T/L, please say so.

Chapter Seven: Can you read funny symbols? Because I can't.

Merton gulped. A knot formed in his chest. He could never hurt Tommy or Lori. They were his best friends. But he had to. The cravings were too strong. He would do anything to taste human blood. He walked slowly down a long hallway filled with cells. The sound of water dripping through leaking pipes and the scattering of rats across the damp stone floor, echoed down the hall. Merton stopped. He saw Tommy's cell. Tommy sat huddled in a corner.

"Merton! You've got to get me out of here! It's freezing!" Tommy yelled.

Merton looked at Tommy. He didn't crave his blood, but he knew that he had to kill Tommy to get blood. And the vampire part of him didn't care what he had to do. He opened the door and closed it behind him. The key he used was made of silver. He eyed it carefully. He couldn't do it. He wouldn't do it. He promised himself he would never hurt Tommy. Never.

But his promises were too late. He hadn't noticed he had already lunged at Tommy and began stabbing his arm with the silver key.

Tommy yelled in pain, "What are you doing? Merton! Stop!"

Merton saw the water pipe going down the wall as he ignored Tommy's cries. He broke a piece of it off the wall and began to hit Tommy in the head with it. It wasn't silver, but it would do more damage than a key.

Tommy grabbed Merton by the wrist and threw him to the floor. "You've got to stop this!"

"Tommy," Merton struggled to say. "Get me out of the cell! Don't let me back in. Keep the keys! Hurry! I can't fight it!" Merton was huddled in a ball and shaking. 

Tommy opened the cell door and threw Merton out. He then locked it as he got back in.

"Good. Don't come out until I'm gone." Merton tried to get up. He tried to control the cravings. He was making progress, until he heard a voice.

"Merton? Is that you? What's going on over there?" It was Lori. 

Merton couldn't control it anymore. He needed the blood. He ran down the hall to Lori's cell. "Hi Lori," He said grinning, almost laughing. It was funny. She trusted him so much. Taking her blood would be easy. 

" Merton, get me out of here!" Lori began to shake the bars of the cell.

Then Merton remembered he didn't have a key. He would have to go back and get another one. But then as he turned around, he saw it laying on the ground outside of Tommy's cell. He picked it up. "Tommy, I told you not to let me get it. Now I'll kill you. You and Lori both. You'll die. You'll die a horrible death!" Merton suddenly grasped his head as he crouched to the floor, "No! I won't do it!"

"Merton, I dropped the keys because they were silver. I couldn't hold them. I'll get us out of here. I'll get you cured. Everything will be fine, you won't hurt anyone!" Tommy sounded almost like he was trying to assure himself more than Merton.

Just then a voice came from down the hall. "My son! What is taking you so long!?" Estriera yelled. "I was a fool to let you torture your friends, I hadn't read the rest of the prophecy. They will be taken upstairs to the rooftop for beheading. Then we will feast on their blood. Come my son." 

Merton followed her. But then a idea hit him, without the prophecy, maybe she wouldn't know what to do. Well, it would happen anyway. But maybe she thought she would need it. Then he could post-pone the inevitable. He couldn't rescue his friends. He might hurt them. But if they had the prophecy, and the keys, they could figure something out on their own. Merton grabbed the scroll carefully from his mother's belt. She turned around, and he whipped the scroll behind his back.

"What was that?" Estriera demanded.

"What was what?" Merton acted as if he knew nothing. He threw the scroll and keys down towards Tommy's cell.

The vampires left the room, and Tommy reached for the scroll. He tried to get the keys too, but ended up throwing them halfway down the hall when they burned his hand. "Lori!" He yelled down the hall. We can find a way out."

"How?" Lori yelled back.

"This scroll, but um… can you read funny symbols? Because I can't." Tommy struggled to read it but failed. He rolled it up, and tossed it down the hall to Lori.

Lori glanced at the scroll. It certainly wasn't english. "Well, this is useless," sighed Lori. "But, it looks like the bottom is ripped off. Let's just get out of here. I'll try to reach the keys." Lori reached her arm out of the cell. She grabbed the keys and pulled them towards her. She began fumbling with the locks, trying to get them open.

A voice was then heard from down the hall. "Ok, You get on the ceremonial robes. I'll get the prisoners." The sound of footsteps echoed through the hall.

"Lori hurry!" Tommy growled.

"I'm trying!" Lori finally managed to get her cell unlocked. She then rushed down and let Tommy out. The footsteps were getting closer.

Tommy and Lori ran down the hall, away from the footsteps. Footsteps were coming from that end too. They quickly whipped around to run the other way, but bumped into… Lori looked up.

Estriera!

"Well, well," she said with a grin. "It looks like we have a couple of runaway prisoners."

A/N: Ya, that chapter was kind of short. There will only be three more chapters after this, ad then it's done. That is, if I do the plot by my first idea. I have a second idea for the plot that would make it longer, but I'm still deciding. Please review ppl! Chop chop! 


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